Next day the enemy made sail towards Cananore, and
sent a message to our commanders, saying, that if they were permitted to
pursue their voyage they would not attack us.
To this it was answered,
that the Christians had not forgotten the perjury and violated faith of
the Mahometans, when they prevented the Christians from passing that way
on a former occasion, and had slain 47 Portuguese, and robbed them of
4000 pieces of gold: Wherefore, they might proceed at their peril, and
should learn of what spirit and reputation in arms the Christians were
composed. Then said the Mahometans, "Mahomet will defend us and confound
the Christians." Then with great fury they assaulted us all at once,
thinking to have forced their way through our fleet, as they were only
10 miles from Cananore. Our admiral intentionally allowed them to draw
near until they were right over-against Cananore, when he intended to
set upon them with all his force, that the rajah or king of Cananore
might be a witness of the valour of the Christians. When the trumpeter
of the admiral sounded the charge as a signal of battle, the admiral
immediately assaulted two of the largest ships of the enemy, casting his
grappling irons and chains, that he might fight them hand to hand. After
throwing our grapplings three times in vain, they caught hold the fourth
time, on which the Christians boarded the greatest ship, and made such
havoc that the whole crew of 600 Mahometans were slain, not one escaping
or being made prisoner. Encouraged by this success, the admiral
immediately grappled another large ship which had chained itself to one
of the Christian foists; this ship was likewise taken and sunk, with the
loss of 500 Mahometans. Discouraged by this defeat, the Mahometans
assailed our twelve foists with all their force, _and carried them
away_. On this emergency the captain of the galley, Joam Serano, shewed
the utmost gallantry, as he fiercely assaulted in his single galley
those ships of the enemy which had _carried away_ our foists, and made
such prodigious slaughter among the Mahometans as seemed quite
incredible, so that he recovered all the foists, and sunk two other
Mahometan ships. The conflict continued with unabated fury from morning
till the darkness of the night parted the combatants, and God so
favoured the Christians that few of them were slain, though many were
wounded.
I must not omit to notice the zeal and courage displayed by Simon
Martin, the captain of one of our ships, on the following occasion in
this battle. It so happened that the brigantine in which I was, was at
one time somewhat parted from the rest of our ships, on which four ships
of the enemy assailed us all at once; and 150 of the Mahometans having
boarded our vessel, constrained us to flee to the poop for safety. While
we were in this extreme danger, Simon Martin leapt on board our vessel,
invoking the name of Jesus to aid him, and fought with such desperate
valour that he slew six of the enemy with his own bond.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 114 of 441
Words from 59051 to 59580
of 230997
